The God of Good Looks

Critics Review

• Bianca Bridge is a heroine to root for … A punchy romance with plenty to say about Caribbean class, poverty and sexism … Unexpectedly riveting

  Observer

• A will-they-won’t-they tension ensues as Mc Ivor uses the metaphor of make-up (there’s an awful lot of it) to examine privilege, corruption and truth. It’s wickedly funny … Bianca is a hugely endearing heroine

  Daily Mail

• McIvor shines in this pitch-perfect narrative of power imbalances … McIvor combines tight plotting and strong character development … This makes for a winning story of comeuppance

  Publishers Weekly

• I loved it

  India Knight, Sunday Times Style

• Likened to Bridget Jones…. It does have that same kind of wonderfully comic voice, as well as a protagonist to adore and root for

  Anna Bonnet, Three Books to Read in June

• After an affair with a married government official ruins her prospects of becoming a writer, Bianca takes a job with an infamous make-up artist in this warm, Trinidad-set novel

  The i Paper, Best Books to Read in June

• Mc Ivor uses Bianca’s attempt to rebuild her life to examine issues surrounding the beauty industry and the poverty, violence and corruption blighting life in Trinidad . . . There’s lots to enjoy, particularly a more authentic picture of Caribbean life than the postcard fantasy

  The Times

• Part feminist tract, part love letter to an island . . . A self-aware, modern, female-centered novel out of Trinidad which breaks new ground

  Monique Roffey, author of Costa Book of the Year, The Mermaid of Black Conch

• Full of characters whose struggles you feel to your bones – and will be rooting for all the way through. Bianca might just be one of my all-time favourite heroines. Fresh, smart, and packed with razor-sharp social commentary-a perfect blend of page-turning and thought-provoking

  Caroline Mackenzie, author of One Year of Ugly

• Phenomenal! A book worthy of a standing ovation. I will never forget how this novel made me feel. It’s effortlessly beautiful

  Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, author of Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?

• A dazzling delight of a debut. The God of Good Looks is a captivating portrait of contemporary Trinidadian culture, a canny exploration of makeup’s power as artifice and art, and a tender celebration of unexpected connections and the human need to love and be loved. I gasped, I laughed, I cried – I didn’t want it to end!

  Coco Mellors, author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein

• A glittering will-they, won’t-they Bridget Jones re-boot

  Nikki May, author of Wahala

• Mc Ivor’s debut novel … effectively captures a surprising and evolving relationship in a mix of humor and drama … A tale that tracks the universal theme of female agency in familial, professional, and social settings … Memorable characters, evocative descriptions, and a well-paced story make this an eminently enjoyable novel

  Booklist

• Get ready for the summer of love as intelligent romcoms take centre stage

  Stylist, Why it's the summer of the romcom bestseller